Short guide for Chichen Itza
Chichen Itza is the most famous Mayan site in the world. It is also a Unesco World Heritage Site and one of the 7 New Wonders of the World. This site is the second most famous archaeological site in Mexico after Teotihuacan. It is therefore particularly important to plan your visit to enjoy it. Here is a short guide for Chichen Itza.
The Gran Plaza
The Gran Plaza is the first place you arrive when you enter the site. It is the perfect starting point for visiting Chichen Itza. Indeed, you can find here the main buildings of Chichen Itza. These include the pyramid of Kukulcan that sits in its center.
The Pyramid of Kukulcan
This is the big must-see in Chichen Itza. You may recognize it as the building that you see in all the pictures. The Kukulcan Temple, also called El Castillo, is the main pyramid of Chichen Itza. It pays respect to Kukulcan, an important Mayan deity. He is the equivalent of Quetzalcoatl among the Aztecs. Many representations depict it as a feathered serpent.
It is a pyramid of 9 floors that has a total of 365 steps. Just like the 365 days of the year. Precisely, it is partly thanks to all its symbolism and its precision that it is considered as one of the most important pyramids of the Mayan world.
Short guide for Chichen Itza: The Platform of Venus
In reality there are two structures with the name of Platform of Venus, the most known and important of which is located in the Gran Plaza, 100 meters from the pyramid of Kukulcan. To distinguish it, it is also called the Temple of Venus. It owes its name to the low reliefs representing the planet Venus found on its facade. It is also known as the Tomb of Chac Mool because of a statue that was found inside. The two platforms of Venus were conceived as public stages intended for ceremonies, rituals, dances and great speeches.
The Tzompantli
Among the important monuments to see in Chichen Itza is the Tzompantli, located in the Great Plaza next to the Temple of the Jaguar and the House of Eagles. The “wall of skulls” was an altar where the Maya impaled the heads of enemy warriors to sacrifice them to the gods. There are no human remains, but you can admire the numerous skulls in high relief.
Short guide for Chichen Itza: The Mayan ball game field
The ball game -Pok Ta Pok in Maya- was a ceremonial game that was practiced for more than 3000 years in Mesoamerica. It had a mainly ritual and political role, and was used among other things to settle various conflicts.
The game consisted in hitting a ball (only with the calves, elbows and hips) in order to make it pass through one of the rings of the field. And it was far from easy: the ball weighed almost 9 pounds, the rings were only 1 feet in diameter and were about 26 feet The whole thing could end in a sacrifice to the gods, by immolation, decapitation and even the excision of the heart.
